Separator.



PATENTED JULY 21, 1908.

A. P. WETTERAUER.

SEPARATOR.

APPLICATION TILED AUG. 12, 1907.

' ticularly designed for ITED STATES T OFFICE.

ANDREW P. WETTERAUER, or Los ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

SEPARATOR.

Application filed August 12,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ANDREW P. WETTER- AUER, acitizen of the United States, residing at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented a new and useful Separator, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relatesto separators parthe separation of floating material, as oil, dust, or the like, from the water where used in connection with powerdriven engine, or in any other connection Where their use may be applicable.

An object of the invention is to provide a convenient, cheap, and eflicient separator to be used in connection .with steam-automobiles for separating oil from the water after the water has left the condenser and is ready to be pumped into the water-tank, thus to prevent any particles of oil from entering the boiler, which is usually very urious to the same. It also affords a more convenient Way of getting rid of the oil; that is to say, it is easier to clean the separator than to clean the water-tank; consequently, it would not have to be cleaned as often as the watertank, in order to keep the water-tank clean enough to prevent oil from returning into the boiler.

Other objects may appear from the following description.

The accompanying drawings illustrate the invention.

Figure 1 is a plan view with closure partly broken away. Fig. 2 is a vertical cross-sec tion on line ru -a Figs. 1 and 3. Fig. 3 is a vertical, longitudinal section on lines x -:c Fi s. 1 and 2. Fig. 4 is an enlarged, longitudinal, vertical, fragmentary, sectional detail on same plane as Fig. 3.

1 is a casing; 2, a receptacle removably mounted inside the casing 1 and divided into two compartments and two passages, by walls 3, 4, and 5, the walls 3 and 5 forming barriers extending from the top to near the floor of the receptacle, from which fioor they are spaced to afford outlets from the compartments to the passages successively.

6 is the outer wall of the receptacle. The wall 4 forms a barrier extending from the floor of the rece tacle to near the top thereof where said wa l terminates below an opening 4 that is on a level with a slot 7 in the wall 6 and which communicates with the 1 specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 21, 1908 1907 Serial No. 388,273.

opening 4 through a tween the walls 5 and 6.

8 is a cone-shaped cover provided on its edges with openings, as a series of serrations 9, and resting on a flange 10 at one side and on a bent portion 11 of the wall 3 at the other side of one of the compartments to receive through inlet 12 the water of condensation and the oil or other material carried thereby, and to allow the same to pass into the compartment over which the cover is located, at the same time preventing any contents of said compartment from slop ing back from said compartment to said in? ical cover 8 also serves to break the force of the stream from the inlet and to distribute the inflowing liquid and cause it to gently enter the compartment below, without stirring or disturbing the contents thereof.

13 is a closure recessed on its under side to fit over the top of the casing and provided with. the inlet 12 and tightly closed upon a gasket a, and secured to the casing 1 b passage formed bethumb-nuts and screws 14 pivoted to the casing and caught in notches or slots 1) in the edges of the closure.

15, 15, are handles for the covers 8 and 24.

16 designates handles on the inner receptacle 2 for the purpose of removing the same from the exterior casing 1.

17 is an outlet through which the water separated from the oil or other floating maa terial may flow off to be used again in the boiler, not shown.

18 designates lugs to secure the casing to the body of the vehicle where it is used.

In practical operation, the water and oil after leaving the condenser of the engine, not shown, travels through the inlet 12 onto the cone-shaped cover 8, whence it passes through the openings at 9 into the compartment 20 between the walls 3 and 3, and into the passage 19, thus filling the compartment and passage up to the level of the opening 4 at the top of the wall 4 at the top of assage 19. The lighter of the two materia s tends to remain at the surface within compartment 20, while the heavier liquid escapes through the passage and overflow 4 into compartment 21 and passage 22.

If, in consequence of vibrations of the-car or any other cause, anyof the lighter material fiows with the heavier liquid through the passage-way 19 into the compartment 21,

et. Said consuch lighter material will be caught in compartment 21 from which the heavier liquid esca es through passage 22 when it reaches the evel of opening 7 over the wall 6,whence the liquid flows through passage 23 to the drain-pipe or outlet 17, whence it may be pumped into the water-tank, not shown, to be again used.

24 is a cover for compartment 21 to prevent splashing of oil and water from that compartment into the outer case.

25 designates supports by which the inner receptacle 2 is supported above the floor 26, thus to form a vacant chamber below the receptacle leading to the outlet 17.

When the accumulations of the lighter material become such as to require cleansing of the receptacle, such cleansin is readily accomplished by removing the closure 13, with drawing the receptacle, removing the covers, and then pouring out the oil and water, after which the receptacle may be replaced and the closure again fastened in place by the thumbscrews. The receptacle 2 is somewhat shorter than the chamber of easing 1 and uprights 27 are mounted in the corners at one end of the casing to hold the casing and receptacle apart to form the open space or passage 23 between the slot 7 and the open space 25. The walls 3, 4, 5 and 6 with their intermediate passages 19 and 22 form traps to prevent escape of the lighter material and a trapped receptacle is thus formed that is compact, and easily handled and readily taken out and cleaned 28 and 29 designate chambers at the top of the receptacle 2, above the compartments 20 and 21, the same being separated from each other by a partition 30 the purpose being to prevent the inflowing liquid from reaching compartment 21 without passing through compartment 20 and passage 19. The covers 8 and 24:, prevent any slopping of the contents of the receptacle into the casing or onto the handles by which the receptacle may be manipulated.

31 designates an air vent between the receptacle and the casing to equalize the pressures in the same so that in case air or other fluid pressure enters through the inlet 12, it will be relieved by passing directly to outlet '17 without disturbing the trapped liquid.

To start the apparatus into use, initially or after cleaning the receptacle, a charge of the pure heavier liquid of the character to be separated, will first be placed in the receptacle, filling the compartments 20 and 21, so that the latter compartment will be trapped from the former to prevent flow of the lighter material into the said latter compart ment 21. Then the mixture to be separated will be introduced at the inlet 12 from the engine or other source of supply and the work of separation begins; the lighter material floating on top of the previously introduced charge, while, as the liquid flows in at the inlet 12, the preceding charge flows out through 19, 20, 21, 7, 22 and 17.

I claim 1. A separator comprising a casing having an outlet and a removable inner receptacle, said receptacle being divided into intercommunicating compartments, and one of said compartments communicating with said cas ing.

2. A separator comprising a casing having a closure and an inlet opening provided in said closure and an outlet from said casing, a removable inner receptacle fitting in said casing and spaced from the bottom and side wall of the casing, said receptacle being divided into intercommunicating compartments, and one of. said compartments communicating with said casing.

3. A separator comprising a casing pro vided with a removable cover having an inlet, an inner receptacle fitting within said casing and spaced from the bottom thereof, said receptacle having a partition extending from the top down to near the bottom, a similar partition in proximity to said firstnamed partition extending from the bottom to top of said casing and provided with an opening whereby to permit the heavier liquids to travel from one compartment to another, and means for drawing off the heavier liquid which has been separated from the lighter.

4. A separator comprising a casing having a closure removably fixed thereto, said closure being provided with an inlet opening, an outlet from said casing, an inner receptacle fitting in said casing and divided into compartments by partition walls part of which extend near the top and bottom respectively of the casing, and part of which are provided with openings, the said partition walls forming a passage-way for water, a cone-shaped cover having serrated edges covering one of said compartments, said cone-shaped cover being arranged directly beneath the inlet opening provided in the closure, and an outlet from said casing.

5. A separator comprising a casing having a closure removably attached thereto pro vided with an inlet opening, and an outlet from said outer casing, a receptacle fitting within said outer casing and spaced from the bottom, and one wall thereof to permit of the escape of liquid from said receptacle to the casing, said receptacle being divided into compartments by partition walls part of which extend from the top and bottom respectively of the receptacle to near the bottom and top respectively of said receptacle, and part of which are provided with openings near the.top, whereby to permit communication between said compartments, and casing, and a cone-shaped cover fitting over one of said compartments, said cover being provided with serrated edges and located directly beneath the inlet opening of said closure.

6. A separator comprising a casing pro vided with an outlet at the bottom thereof, a closure for the casing, means to fasten the closure on the casing, a receptacle in said casing, spaced apart from one end thereof and provided with two compartments, with chambers above the compartments respectively and with passages, one of said passages leading from the bottom of one compartment to the top of the other compartment, and the other of said passages leading from the bottom of said other compartment to an elevated outlet, covers in the chambers above said compartments, said closure being pro vided with an inlet into the chamber above the first named compartment, and an outlet being provided from the lower part of the casing.

7. A se arator comprising a casing provided wit an outlet through the bottom thereof, a closure for the casing provided with an inlet, means to fasten the closure on the casing, a receptacle in the casing spaced apart from the bottom and from an end wall thereof and provided with partition walls forming two compartments and a passage communicating between'the bottom of one compartment and the top of the other, the first of said compartments being below said inlet and the other compartment being provided with another wall forming an outlet passage leading from the bottom of such compartment and discharging into the casing near the top thereof.

8. A water and oil separator provided with a casing, a receptacle therein having compartments and Ipassages for separating water from oil and c ambers above the compartments, covers between the compartments and chambers, and handles in the chambers for manipulating the receptacle.

9. A water and oil separator comprising a casing, a trapped receptacle in the casin provided with compartments and spaced apart from the bottom and from one end of the casing, handles inside the receptacle, and

cover means inside the receptacle between the handles and the compartments.

10. A separator comprising a casin provided with an outlet, a detached 0 osure therefor provided with an inlet, a receptacle in the casing provided with a plurality of tra s and arranged to receive liquid from the in et and deliver it throu h the traps to the casing and also arrange to provide a vent between the receptacle and the casing.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand at Los Angeles, California, this 5th day of August, 1907.

ANDREW P. WETTERAUER.

In presence of- ANTON GLonT'zNER, JAMES R. TOWNSEND. 

